Transcript of Somerville Democratic Committee Debate
The Somerville Democratic Committee hosted a debate on August 1 at Somerville High School. It was recorded by the Somerville Media Center and can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgWMenvuJVg
No transcript was provided, so I took the YouTube transcript and have added the speakers to it. The text is still rough, and gets some words wrong (especially names), but is a lot quicker to see what your candidates are saying than by spending an hour watching.
Joe Lynch
everyone to the 34th Middle Sex State Representative Democratic debate hosted by the Dem Somerville Democratic Party.
It is being filmed by the Somerville Media Center. This district is made up of West Somerville, Winter Hill, and
South Medford. It is currently held by Christine Barber, who is not seeking reelection in order to run for the
second Middle Sex Senate seat. No Republican, third party, or unenrolled candidate qualified for the November
general election. So, the Democratic Party primary is almost certain to decide the next state rep. All
registered Democrats and unenrolled voters can vote in this election on or before September 1st by requesting a Democratic primary ballot.
Our candidates tonight for the 34th Middle Sex District are city Somerville City Councelor at large Willba.
Sure. Sure.
Somerville Ward 4 resident Chris Oats
[applause]
and Medford School Committee person Paul Rouso. Welcome gentlemen.
The rules for tonight's debate were crafted by the Democratic Party here in Somerville, and they are as follows.
Each candidate will get a threeinut opening statement. Candidates will have 1 minute and 30 seconds for a direct response and 30 seconds for follow-ups.
We will begin in the order that they are standing to my left.
The podiums were arranged by random drawing and we will begin in the order of which they are standing. So we're
going to begin with councelor andba's threeinut opening statement. Councelor and
Will Mbah
thank you Joe. Uh appreciate you know the opportunity. Thank you Jack and the summer for your leadership in bringing
us together. I'm pretty sure uh my colleague Chris you'll be excited about this. you've been asking for this debate for a very long time and Paula and I
we're super excited. Uh before I also like you know say a few words just the residents of the district thank you for being here you know so I'm really
excited you guys are our bosses my name is William Ba I'm running to be your next state representative for the 34th Middle Sex District 16 years ago I came
to this country from Cameroon in search of opportunity and like many families around the district you know I have you
know, my own I have experienced my own share, you know, of the struggle. I moved five time in six years in search of affordable housing. And my wife and
I, we are raising our kids in West Som that are in public schools. You know, they love it and every day we also keep wondering for how long these kids will
continue to enjoy this community that they love. So those experiences that I've have, you know, have shaped how I
approach public service and for nearly a decade, you know, you have been, you know, been able to entrust me with the
responsibility of leading this community as your counselor at large. And with that, you know, we've delivered a lot of meaningful results and not just talk
about problems. I've helped create the office of housing stability and the summer community land trust. I've led
effort to protect workers from wage theft. I've championed climate action, safe streets, environmental justice,
immigrant rights, and investment in affordable housing through my position on the job creation and retention trust and also on the affordable housing
trust. This race isn't simply, you know, about the best ideas. It is about who is ready to turn those ideas into law on
Beacon Hill. There are absolutely no doubt. I I have a tremendous respect for my colleagues you know Chris Oats and
you know Paul Roso amazing you know gentlemen who I greatly respect you know and for also just your willingness to
serve but you know I have something different it is about a proven track record of governing writing legislation
building coalitions and passing policies and delivering results on day one so I won't need to learn about how government
works we need somebody who understands city hall and then we can also take that you know on Bacon Hill. So all that is
to say at the state house I will fight to make Massachusetts more affordable by building more affordable housing,
strengthening tenant protections, improving transportation, fully funding our public schools, protecting workers right, expanding access to health care
and I have personal stories behind all these issues. you know, advancing climate action and ensuring that every family has a fair opportunity to
succeed. So, this is what I'm going to bring and I respectfully, you know, ask for your for your vote on September 1st.
So, thank you for being here and I look forward to the conversation as we unfold.
Joe Lynch
Thank you, Will and Bar. Next up, Chris Oats.
Chris Oates
Well, thank you. Thank you everyone uh for being here. My name is Chris Oats.
It is lovely to share a little bit of democracy with you here tonight because we don't have enough of that in Massachusetts. Massachusetts has the
least competitive state legislature in the entire country. Most of our state legislative seats this year are uncontested. Many of the others will be
decided on September 1st before a lot of people start tuning in like this one.
And that is not how democracy should work. And a lot of the issues that we're going to be talking about tonight, from transportation to childare to energy, one of the reasons we don't see the
urgency on Beacon Hill is because we don't have that uh popular pressure on our elected officials. Now, I never really expected to be up here running
for state representative. I thought my career was going to be in foreign policy. I was 17 when the Iraq war started and that led me to study political science at Brown and then go
to Oxford for my masters and PhD in international relations. After that, I got a job as a political risk analyst.
So, I was writing uh uh mic's not working. Sorry. Um the uh I uh worked as a political risk
analyst uh which was writing reports pretty lengthy ones uh advising governments and multinational organizations about everything from geopolitics to macroeconomics. But I
started to notice that a lot of the stuff in my work and then the things that I was living personally were not being decided in Washington. They were being decided at the state level. And
that is the housing that I was trying to afford, the traffic that my dad was sitting in every day on his way to work or the mental health care that my sister has unfortunately had to have a lot of.
And yet there was still less scrutiny of our state governments often than when a presidential candidate had breakfast in New Hampshire. And so I thought that needed to change. So I joined the rank
choice voting campaign in 2018 to try to bring more choice to our elections. I helped lead the statewide coalition, which is really the only way you get anything done on Beacon Hill is to have
a statewide coalition. And when that campaign ended, I started a company to make state legislatores across the country more accessible. But for me, the big change in my life uh was when I had
a son. Well, my wife had a son. I was I was there. Uh, I ate a lot of gummy bears that day. Um, but then when she went back to work, my wife's a doctor,
so I became the primary caregiver. And what I saw was that all of the, you know, the mailing list that I had signed up to about come to this event, go to
that event, they were all happening during bedtime and bath time and story time and I couldn't go to them. And you see that when our elections are
uncompetitive and when so many of the civic events that have the conversations that shape the decisions that affect government are happening at a time where
many working families can't attend, you really are shut out. So that's really why I'm running uh today because I think what we need from our next representative is someone who can
understand the complexities of the policies of the full spectrum policies can build the statewide coalitions because you can't get anything done on Beacon Hill unless you have uh
geographic and ideological breadth in your coalition and can always remember that the people in the room with them the people donating, the people coming to events like this are not the totality
of our district. And so our job is to always be reaching out to communities that we feel are not already involved in the political process, finding out what
they need, and then uh delivering the results to serve them. Thank you.
Joe Lynch
Thank you, Chris Oats. Up next, Paul Russo.
Paul Ruseau
Thank you everyone for being here. I hope I can project enough. Um I'm sure this is how everybody wanted to spend their Saturday, so I really but I do
really appreciate the uh Somerville Democratic uh city committee putting this together. Uh my name is Paul Russo.
I am running to be your next state representative. Well, some of you. Um, and some of you know me, some of you don't. Um, and I'm really glad that
you're here regardless. I've lived in the Medford Somerville area for over 20 years. Um, I live in I first lived in Somerville on Powder House Boulevard,
but I now live in Medford with my husband, uh, Bob and our two kids, Nev and Matthew. They're now adults, so I don't know what to call them. Um, and of
course, our cats. Um I am a by day I'm a software engineer at Dana Farber Cancer Institute supporting technology uh be
that is behind life-saving uh research cancer research. For the last nine years I have had the honor to serve on the meford school committee where I am proud
to have transformed our schools in that time. Um this last term I have I co-led the 2024
2025 Medford teacher contract negotiations we which got us smaller class sizes, paid parental leave and the
largest raise in Medford Teachers Association's history. We more than doubled the pay for our pair of professionals and that was at my demand.
When I first was elected and I saw what our pair of professionals made, I was beyond mortified. Um, and now we this
year they get another 8%, next year another 8%. It's not a living wage, but we're getting there. Um, I brought free meals to the to our district before the
state did. Uh, brought free dental checkups in our elementary schools. A lot of these things have a very direct connection to my own experience. I know
how to get things done in government and I also know firsthand what it feels like when government fails. Far too many people in Medford, Somerville, and
across Massachusetts also know what it's like when the government fails.
I grew up with homelessness, food insecurity, and all the other things that go with that.
These are not just failures of government. They are purposeful policy decisions. The way we craft our policy
to make, frankly, a lot of liberals feel good that we're doing the right thing and that stuff doesn't actually land where the people that need it get it.
Um, so that is the kind of business as usual that I'm not looking forward to continuing at the state house. Um, we one of my favorite things is that
Massachusetts is uh really the best at sustaining the unsustainable. Every year we hear about our health care costs
being unsustainable and it's been going on now for most of everybody here's lives. Um, sounds pretty sustainable.
Um, so that's of course why Medicare for all is my number one priority. Um, and I'm gonna run out of time before my list is done, but I really appreciate
everybody being here and listening, and I look forward to answering a lot more questions tonight. And thank you so much.
Joe Lynch
Thank you, Paul Russo. We're going on to the Q&A portion. First question, the three of you, all progressive Democrats,
are seeking the same office, and you agree on many of the problems facing this district. Many voters are looking
not just who agrees with them, but who is most likely to successfully legislate on them. Could you each speak to what
kind of legislative style you will take and how you intend to be the most effective legislator for this district?
I'm going to start. These are 1 minute 15 second answers. They are very good about keeping time because the timer is
right in front of them. Um could you So we're going to start with councelor Emba going to Mr. Oats and then Mr. Russo and
we'll start changing up after that. So councelor and
Will Mbah
thank you Joe uh for that question. Just like I mentioned in my
introduction that I have tremendous respect for my you know counterpart and I actually you know started
differentiating myself about the fact that I have a proven track record of somebody who has been able to translate
ideas into policy and actually actually govern. So I understand city hall I know most of the legislation that left from summer and they are waiting at Beacon
Hill you know for us to kind of like push them forward. So I have my own lived experiences on top of that. So this is like I bring you know a very
holistic approach because there like saying that whoever is closest you know to the pain should be closest to the power. So I have you know experienced
most of these issues personally I have spoken on most of the legislation at the state house on housing. I I'm a frequent flyer at the state house. Spoken on
housing. Co-founded summer alliance for safe street. Champion for safe street.
Spoken on climate legislation on Beacon Hill. Spoken on immigrant legislation the safe community act. We just passed the protect act. I have been on Beacon
Hill on all this legislation. I think that is something that differentiates me. I don't just show up you know I show up. I get the job done. I build
coalition. I know how to like weave the system because this is how it takes. I'm a community guy who loves this community. Love Medford and I have a
contingent of Medford constituents right here to see how we are we will be you know having this conversation in broad daylight and how we can differentiate
ourselves. So I appreciate the opportunity.
Joe Lynch
Thank you. Will Chris,
Chris Oates
so I worked on the rank choice voting campaign and my title was senior adviser for strategic partnerships which was the most pretentious title I've ever had in
my life. Um and it was basically go out and build the coalition that can get rank choice voting passed. We had four pieces of legislation on Beacon Hill.
Uh, and we also had a ballot initiative.
And we're trying to do both at the same time. Obviously, if you can get the legislation passed, you don't have to go to the ballot. And what I saw was it's very simple. You need in the House 81
votes. You need in the Senate 21. So, you cannot just say this is popular in Somerville or Medford or Cambridge or
Boston. You need to get allies in the Birkshars, in Worcester County, and the South Coast. And what we had to do was
basically go to a very wide range of people who did not agree on everything.
They didn't agree on much, but if we could get them to agree on this one issue, then we could move it forward.
And what I noticed that the best way to do that is obviously you go in there and you try to persuade them on the facts and you try to find out where their interests align with your interest. But
the single best way to is to do it with a coalition of advocacy groups across the state. Because when we try to go in and meet with a representative, it was off me, go, sorry, we're really busy.
when we said you have five of your constituents who want to go in and meet with you, all of a sudden they had that meeting booked. So that's really how I I see it. Work with the co the advocacy
groups across the state and say what do you need from me inside the building to help you on the outside whether that is some strategic guidance about where the
you know the critical uh levers are or whether it's just to be that kind of good cop in the building so after they meet with their coh constituents they can come to me and say what's really
going on and they can hopefully trust me.
Joe Lynch
Thank you, Chris Paul.
Paul Ruseau
So, I love this question a lot. Um, so I was the first R Ev Revolution Medford candidate in 2017. Um, I sworn in in
2018. And in that time, um, the coalition has grown so that all of the school committee members are on that
slate. Six of the seven city councilors are on that slate. I know how to build a coalition, keep it together, which is an
unrelated activity, frankly, and ensure that we are all staying true to the the thing that brings us together. And what
made our revolution Medford so successful was that we didn't have a big pile of policies, we had value statements. So we somebody else was
talking about this earlier but we have got to talk about our values because policy is frankly very detailed and is
hard to digest for most people but values are not. This coalition has 12 of the 14 local officials all on the same
slate every single election. And that is not a testament to a click. That is a testament to the fact that we said we
would do something and we've done it and we continue to do it. And when I say metro public schools has changed dramatically in nine years. I don't
think you can comprehend how dramatically it has changed. It is an unrecognizable school system after five
terms in office. And I plan to take that same approach to the state house where I'm going to subvert my other 750
priorities to the ones that are most important now like Medicare for all.
Joe Lynch
Thank you, Paul. So in one word, gentlemen, this is the moderator's discretion. One word, what is your
legislative style? Let's go to Paul first.
Paul Ruseau
One word. prepared for five minute long answers. Um, I would say uh coalitions.
Joe Lynch
Chris.
Chris Oates
Oh, he stole mine. I was going to say coalition.
Joe Lynch
All right.
You can both have the same answer. Will
Will Mbah
Chris stole my cooperation. Cooperation.
Joe Lynch
No, I'm just saying. [laughter] All right. I'm I'm looking for some debate here, folks. But let's go to question two. That's a cooperation for myself.
On which one legislative committee would you most like to serve? Why? And how do
you expect to get that assignment? Let's go to Mr. Rouso first.
Paul Ruseau
Sure. So, I I I'll be quick with the answer that I is my real answer. And I know that I can't have it, so I'm going
to move on past that. The first one I would really want is rules. Um I I wrote all the rules for Medford's public schools. the school committee. There
were none when I was elected. Um, and I understand that rules are not just a little thing. They're really how the
machinery works. There's no way a freshman's getting on that committee.
Um, and there's a probably a 0% chance they don't stick me on education. I care about education. I've been a school committee member, so of course I'd be
happy to be on education. The one I really want to be on right now, though, is healthcare financing. Um, the title of it alone tells you that it is not
about Medicare for all. It is about how do we deal with the freakout every year of the 10 12 whatever percent increase
that we have and every year we say we can't sustain this and somehow we just keep sustaining it. Um so I want to be on the healthcare financing committee
because I would like to try to steer the conversation away from not just the annual freakout which we have to have because we have to figure it out but it
can't be the whole conversation. If it's the whole conversation throughout the entire year, year after year, when do we talk about implementing Medicare for
all? So, healthcare financing is my final answer.
Joe Lynch
Thank you very much, counselor and ba, how about you?
Will Mbah
Well, thank you, Joe. And and just to mirror uh what you know, Paul said, even myself, you know, there's like so many
things I want to be on, you know, beside housing, which everybody cares about housing. I've been thinking a lot about
like all this uh like recently the the MBTA actually wasn't really working. So I was when I was taking the bus you know
by I was like oh this is like we can I would love to be on this [laughter] on this committee and then I thought about my own health care you know experience
in the United States when I moved here I applied for Mass Health they rejected me they said I wasn't below 21 and I didn't have a dependent and then at the end of
the year they penalized me for not having health insurance. I'm like, "Oh, I want to be on, you know, on on the on health healthcare policies." And so, as
an environmental scientist myself also, they just passed the environmental bond bill. So, you you need people to push for those funding into communities to
enable them to do, you know, like climate resilience and all these different. So, there's like all these different things. I'm excited to be on immigration. I don't want to be the
whistleblower, but again, we just passed the protect Act, but again, there's a lot that we can do to actually push, you know, communities forward. councelor
about I'm not putting you on a committee so you don't have to look at me but no which one committee I think I think I want to be on not one
I want to be on a few I want to be on housing and I want to be on environment thank you very much
Joe Lynch
who's up next sorry
let's go to Chris Oats
Chris Oates
Um so I thought about this a lot because that I feel like econ development is uh fits with my background housing is
obviously something important so is transportation for this district but as a first term representative, you don't get to choose the the big committees like Ways and Means. And so I've been
thinking a lot about how do I make the biggest impact as a first-term representative. And what I think I want to do is be the person to go in there and say, what are the specific issues
that have too often fallen through the cracks as everyone focuses on on the big deals, you know, the big ticket items and a lot of folks on the committee
chairs are pretty inundated. So for me that would be the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities because I feel like you have a really big chance to make an
impact. Even a a small change can have huge implications for a family or you
know a child or someone who is trying to get a handicap spot on their street. You know that is the thing that is why you
do this job. So yeah I still got 35 seconds. Can I talk about econ development a little bit?
Joe Lynch
Sure you can. That's your time.
Chris Oates
So, the other one is if I can't get um children's, it's econ because so much of probably what we're going to be talking
about tonight is oh, we're going to do this and we're going to pay for it. Uh how are we going to pay for it? We're going to pay for it either by raising taxes, which is always a fight, or we
could just pay for it through economic growth. And that is a lot easier because you don't have to go into huge battles.
So, that would probably be the other one if I can't get uh children, families, and persons with disabilities is go for econ and try to build the economy that
can pay for all the probably other things. uh that we're going to be talking about tonight.
Joe Lynch
Thank you very much, Chris. Next question.
Councelor Emba, during your time on Somerville City Council, you voted to send Beacon Hill many home rule
petitions, including on rent control, a real estate transfer fee, tenant opportunity to purchase, municipal
voting rights for 16 and 17 year olds, among others. All of these proposals have languished in the legislature. If
you are elected, what specific tactics would you use to get Somerville and Medford's home rule petitions through the state house?
Will Mbah
Thank you, Joe. I have been thinking about this and really been excited about it. I think I even texted a few colleagues, not that we actually know
the outcome, but there's been, you know, u excitement about like how to push some of this legislation forward. That's why
I talked about somebody who understand this city hall and now is moving to Beacon Hill. I think one of the things we need to do is education. Our
education and outreach methodology has to change because you got to bring people together. So you understand that Medford and some these are two different
communities. I've been convincing you know in Medford. I've knocked thousands of doors there. And the idea about rent control is not very popular in Medford.
And so that's why we have enabling legislation, you know, to give communities the option to do what choose that works for their communities. So
this is how you kind of like push legislation forward and bring meaningful change that is tailored to each community here in Massachusetts.
Joe Lynch
Thank you, Chris.
If there's if there's a difference there between your style and counselor and boss, kind of highlight that.
Chris Oates
Sure. So, I think the big reason why so many of our home rule petitions don't make it uh very far in the state house is because the state leaders think it
would be bad for Massachusetts. And really, you know, you can say, well, it's just about Somerville, but they say, well, if that has a negative impact on the Commonwealth overall, they're not
going to support it. So, I think the really the only way you do that is by building a reputation within the state house and with leadership that when you go to them and say, "This is a a home
rule petition, but trust me, I've looked into it. It is good for the state overall. It is not something where we're going to do it. It's going to be a disaster. The state has to come in with
extra money. So, you have to, I think, build that reputation of a serious thinker that when you go to them, it's not like you go to them every day and
say, "I need this. I need this. I need this." You know, when to pick and choose what you think is the most important for your district. That you can then get
through the leadership. And that involves working a lot with the city officials and with advocacy groups to see that of the, you know, 5,000 bills
that get filed up there, many of which are home rule petitions, these are the ones that I'm really going to fight for because you have limited political capital up there. And so you have to be
able to understand, and that is mainly through listening to others, what it is that we really need to fight for. And then you need to translate the demands of your community into why it is good
for the state overall. so that leadership on Beacon Hill will say, "Yeah, we'll go with this because we think that even though it's a home rule petition, it will be good for the
neighboring towns and it will be good for the overall state budget." So, I think that's the most important thing.
You have to demonstrate to leadership why this is not just for Somerville or for Medford, but really for Massachusetts overall.
Joe Lynch
Thank you, Chris. Paul, same style, different style.
Paul Ruseau
Uh, very different, very different style. Okay.
Um, I see the uh use of a lot of home rule petitions. There are 511 of them filed so far this term um as a failure
of the legislature. Um I had a great conversation on the door with a person who was very uncomfortable with the Somerville ballot question around
divestment. Um I didn't agree with her, but I did agree that there's a problem with this uh use of um whether it's
ballot questions. I don't think that these local home rule petitions are terribly different. Frankly, there's a
law and then we want an exception. That means the law is the problem. And it is
not, in my opinion, an approach where 27% of those local home rule petitions have been signed into law this this
term. And that's a lot considering only 43 real bills have actually been signed into law. What is going on at the state
house? what's not going on is legislating. Um, with 5,000 bills filed in a single term, that is a tsunami of
bills. And so when I talk about want to get on the rules, one of the rules I want to do is to dramatically restrict the number of bills legislators can
file. If there is a mountain of stuff that has to be processed every term, it's not a mountain, it's, you know,
much bigger than a mountain. How are we going to have the bandwidth to focus on things like Medicare for all?
We don't have the bandwidth and I have a little sympathy frankly for the folks trying to keep the ship afloat.
Joe Lynch
Thank you very much. On to the next question.
Somerville and Medford have some of the highest costs of living expenses in the nation. Council, you support allowing
municipalities to adopt rent stabilization. Mr. Oats, you have emphasized removing zoning and
permitting barriers to private housing construction. And Mr. Russo, you've called for a substantial expansion of
publiclyowned mixed income social housing. Which of those approaches would reduce housing costs most quickly? And
what evidence can you provide that will support your answer? councelor and Bob first.
If you if you need me to repeat the question, I can. Those are kind of long. Do it. Thank you.
Good. So really, you know, which of the approaches would reduce housing costs most quickly and what evidence supports your answer? So in your case, you're
saying rent stabilization. In Mr. Oat's case, he's saying removing the zoning and permitting barriers. And in Mr.
Rouso he's saying substantial expansion of public housing.
Will Mbah
Yeah. No, I think it um I wouldn't disagree with with Mr. Oats and you know
Mr. Russo. I think we need a multi-prong approach for this housing you know situation. I ran for office for mayor of
this city on rent control. You know, even though they kind of like massag change, im morph itself into rent stabilization and know I still believe
in rent control as the only pathway forward. But again, you know, we also need to, you know, embrace, you know,
the the Yini bill to remove barriers, you know, for this, you know, like all this legislation that needs to build more housing. We also need to encourage
uh uh uh Yes. in God's backyard, you know, that you know, uh uh um faith bu like facilities should be able to build
multif family housing. So it there are multiple approaches you know to be able to push this housing forward. There is not like a silver bullet. So this is my
stand and this is how I I will approach this conversation.
Joe Lynch
Great Chris Oates.
Chris Oates
Yeah. So the reason I led with uh housing production is that we see from Auckland New Zealand to Austin, Texas that the fastest way to drop rents is a
large increase in supply. But the nice thing when you do that is that you also then generate the revenue to pay for affordable housing, public housing, social housing, whatever you want to
call it. um non-market rate housing that is partially subsidized usually by the uh by the government or by tax incentives. And if you talk to anyone
who works in affordable housing, they will always tell you the big problem is where do they get the money? Is it federal tax credits which might be going away? Affordable housing trust funds?
Anything else? The question is always where do we get the money? So the reason why I emphasize production is that generates the revenue that you can then
use to subsidize all the other types of non-market rate housing uh that you need. And the other thing um I should mention is that by bringing down the
cost of construction through permitting reform, you then have cheaper homes that you can actually build because now if it
costs less to build that home, there are more projects that pencil out. But more importantly, the subsidies for affordable housing go a lot further.
Here in Somerville, the Somerville Community Land Trust recently did a project and it required between $600 and $700,000 of subsidies per unit. Now, we
don't have as much m that much money to do those subsidies statewide. We need $220,000 units across the state. So if we did all of those at that rate, it
would be $154 billion. We don't have the money for that. So by bringing down the cost of construction, making those subsidies go further, we have more
people who need help getting the help that they need.
Joe Lynch
Thank you, Paul Russo.
Paul Ruseau
All that. Um, obviously I actually think rent stabilization is probably the answer to the question of what will most quickly bring down the costs. Um, I
think that one of the the challenges is that um, you know, we hear a lot about build build build. And my response to that is if the market was going to solve
this problem, well, the market's been around for a long time and I haven't seen it solve the problem. I only see the problem getting worse. Um, I think
if we don't address the issue of decommodifying housing as an actual asset, which for anybody who owns a home, don't worry, yours is it's not
going to go down. If we could just have it go down to just maybe one or two% increase a year or even just inflation, that would be a dramatic improvement in
the the fact that housing is just a commodity, just an investment. For a lot of people, it's their only thing for retirement. Um, and that problem that
was invented, we're pretty good at inventing these things in our our endstage capitalist society, but um it
has to be directly addressed. And one of the other things that the reason I said public housing and publicowned housing,
social housing, housing that isn't just for folks at the bottom income scale, but folks who are, you know, not the folks at the top, they don't want it
anyways, but folks that are in the middle income, frankly, folks that are now making six figures and can't possibly buy a home in Somerville ever.
Ever. Like six figures. And there's no hope for buying a home if you did not inherit it. And this word I heard on a podcast called an inheritocracy. That's
what we live in. We live in inheritocracy.
Thank you very much.
Joe Lynch
So, can I encapsulate stabilize the market while continuing to
build and make sure the public housing portion of that is included in everything that we do?
I'm not running. [laughter] Question. Somerville schools have repeatedly been under financial strain
and the city has dedicated substantial funding to try to improve educational outcomes. Mr. Rouso, you have a
solution. Rewriting the chapter 70 education aid formula and removing its inflation cap. How much additional funding would your proposal require?
Where would that money come from? And how would you persuade legislators representing communities that might
receive a smaller share? And I'm going to ask you both a followup to that.
Paul Ruseau
The the idea that any community will receive a smaller share is probably not necessary. Um that we we have a floor in
our chapter 70 formula. I don't agree with it on principle. There's a floor.
So if you're Weston, Welssley, Manchester by the Sea, you get state aid for your students. even if you could
easily afford to pay for it all. And every one of those dollars is dollars that's not going to Somerville and Medford and lots of other communities
that frankly need more. Um the floor I think is something that should be removed from the chapter 70 formula. I think that is as likely to happen as climate emergency will be over tomorrow.
Um but increasing the amount of money that is going to communities. So there's this whole harmless part of the chapter
70 formula. This is really boring stuff if you don't know what it is. It's how we the state decides how much money to give cities and towns to pay for
education. And um when you are not technically supposed to get any more, they give you a token amount. It's called hold harmless and it's per pupil.
So some years it's $20, some years it's $120. But if you can do math at all, you quickly realize that number is
dramatically lower than inflation. So for Somerville and Medford for the last decade, we get hold harmless, which means we get less money every year from
the state if you include inflation. And somehow we do that by not paving the roads or not hiring enough teachers or
being inappropriate in negotiations and not giving appropriate raises. And I'm out of time. Sorry.
Joe Lynch
Thank you, Paul. Councelor and Chris Oats, let's do this. Do you agree with that approach? And if you don't, what's
the difference with the approach that you know that Paul has described?
Will Mbah
No, I mean I appreciate you know like I think that
it's whatever thing Paul is saying makes so much sense because you even supposed to add the fact that you know there's
also the evaluation is also based on property values you know and so and meanwhile there are people in the city
and mefort you know they have their property value is very high but they are cash poor so you know there's like all these different evaluation that people
that it doesn't really match the reality of everyday you know like life. So I support you know like what Paul is saying that you know the state can do
more you know to be able to like change this formula so that it is more just and equitable across municipalities.
Joe Lynch
Thank you Chris.
Chris Oates
Well this is yeah this is going to be personal for me because my son's starting prek the day after the election. So I will be a public school parent but not until the election. But I
think if we're going to reopen the chapter 70 form uh funding formula, I think what we're likely to get into is not just what's going on today, but what
is going to be happening over the next 15 years, which is that with birth rates falling right now, student populations are going to be falling over the next generation. So it's in 2050 is projected
that we'll have 19% fewer students in Massachusetts than what we have today.
And that's not going to be distributed evenly across the state. So Somerville and Medford might be constant, but places in the Birkshars might have their student population go down by over a
third and you cannot just heat the building a third less in winter if you have a third less kids. So I think if we're going to be reopening, you know,
the actual formula for funding to try to get more for Somerville and Medford, I think what we're likely to get into is a different debate driven by the representatives out in the Birkers and
in Worcester County. What are we going to do with student falling uh populations? Because a lot of education spending is per pupil. So if they start
getting less, you know, less money because they have fewer pupils, they're going to have difficult situations of are they laying off teachers, are they closing buildings, are they
regionalizing? And so while I'm not opposed to what Paul is saying, I'm saying if we're going to get into a big education funding uh debate, I think
it's very likely to turn into what does Massachusetts need, not just right now, but what do all the different communities need in 2035, in 2040, in
2050? And that's probably going to be ending up what uh what the new formula is going to be.
Paul Ruseau
Joe, can I respond to that?
Joe Lynch
Thank you. Sure. Follow up.
Paul Ruseau
Um I do I thank you so much, Chris, because that my one of my main points was that uh Massachusetts does uh funding for education in a way that is
actually, you know, if you live here and you've always lived here, you think that's how it goes. Um there's Maryland does it by county, which is a much bigger unit. M Vermont does it by state.
That's obviously a bigger unit. Our willingness to accept that you live one house over in Cambridge, you can have twice as much money spent on your
education than in Somerville, let's not talk about Medford, is a values problem.
Joe Lynch
Thank you. Next question. Mr. Oats, you have never held elected office. What experience do you have that counselor
and Mr. Rouso do not that voters should consider you?
Chris Oates
So I worked as I said on the rank choice voting campaign uh 2018 through 2020 and so that was a statewide ballot initiative. So we were doing two things.
First we were trying to get a majority in the legislature um because that was is an easier way to pass it. We were also trying to build the popular support
for election reform um without a real like local example. We were basically trying to set a uh an example for the
rest of the ca country. when rank choice voting had worked in the past was in Maine. They had a specific person, Paul Leage, the governor, very likely to be the next congressman from the second
district to point to. So, we had a harder job. So, that involved me going around to Democratic and Republican town committees across the state and trying
to tell them why this issue, which might seem abstract and anodine and kind of technical, was actually in their interest. I had to talk with
Libertarians and Greens. I spoke with the League of Women Voters. I sat in with legislators when their constituents would would try to talk to them about it and I had to be the subject matter
expert um answering that. And really that is the job of a legislator. If you want to pass legislation on Beacon Hill, you need a majority from across the
state to be with you. So my experience I think that is most relevant is the fact that I've already done that. I've already tried to build that coalition.
I've learned what is it like to talk to someone from Worcester and say, "Yes, we care about this a lot in Somerville and Cambridge and Medford, but here's why you should care about it as well, even
though you think it doesn't apply to you. Here's why it helps your interest as well as ours." Because if you want to get something passed, that's how you do is you tell you make it so that it's
their interest to help you out and to help the people here out.
Joe Lynch
Thank you very much, Will. And Paul, you were once candidates who had never been elected
yourselves. You got anything you want to offer to Chris on firsttime candidates?
[laughter]
Paul Ruseau
I I have Sure. Sure. Go ahead.
Um so I will say that um I missed that being a first-time candidate. I very much miss it. My hope levels were
different. Really very high. Um, I will say that um, local city uh, elections and and
governance is is really such a different uh, game. It really is. Um, you know,
there's a 160 House members. You know, I know all I have every single Medford city councelor and school committee
member on a group chat to say, you know, where are we going for dinner and, you know, or whatever. That's not a thing at the state house. Um, and the thing that
bothers me a lot about the state house is that a majority of the the the electeds can think we should pass a bill
and they can co-sign a bill and it doesn't do a thing. We for 10 for seven years we've had the menstrual products
bill sitting and going nowhere. Driver's license for homeless youth, 10 years. Nobody would be opposed to it. Nobody.
It costs nothing. But we can't do it. It just can't happen. the recess bill for kids, the Healthy Youth Act, all a decade never get their day for a vote.
So, I think that addressing the machinery itself directly is the only way to really make any big changes. I
don't think I am the guy that's going to change the state house. Me and a coalition of three or four other folks who are attached at the hip and are
unwilling to do anything other than talk about one issue at a time.
Joe Lynch
Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Council B. No.
Will Mbah
Uh, thank you. Thank you, Paul. I was just I mean, for me, all I have is just deep respect for Mr. Oats because it
takes a lot of courage, you know, to step up to run. So, uh, that is why when I made my introduction,
I appreciated, you know, your leadership and Jack and the Dems for putting this together and I said, Mr. O must be happy because this is where, you know, we you
can see the contrast. you know, we can hear and what you stand for, what we stand for, what everybody stands for.
So, this is for me. This is huge. So, that is all, man. Congratulation for stepping up.
Joe Lynch
Thank you, Will. Something tells me I'm not going to get them to argue. I [laughter] I'm trying my best here, folks. Next question.
Council, you have stated that if elected, you will step down as a Somerville City Counselor. Mr. Russo,
you have said that you would continue working at Dana Farber while serving in the legislature. To each of you, would
you intend to serve as a full-time state representative? Is is that me? Who's first?
Let's go to uh counselor and bar. Okay.
You are you are going to give up your seat.
Will Mbah
Yes. and and and here was my methodology like when I when I started collecting signatures again people my supporters
fans they're like oh well like you know are you going to keep your your seat or I'm like I haven't even thought about
they're like oh we want you to finish your term I'm like sure I'll finish my term you know so then they started getting excited then when after I've
submitted my papers and everything like the majority of people that sign my nomination paper they wanted me to finish my term but when I started looking at reality Some people approach
me in good faith and say like well I think it might be too much and then I'm like wow I think it also I have never been in that office before just to
respect the city of Medford and the city of Summerville. I think it is it is in my interest to resign so that I can
fully focus on both district and serve them you know with the skills and ability that I've been entrusted with.
Joe Lynch
Mr. Russell.
Paul Ruseau
Sure. Um so I don't see this as choosing between two forms of public service. My work at the Dana Farber supports
technology behind cancer research and I am proud of it. Um, I've also spent nine years on the school committee while working, raising a family, negotiating
contracts. I've been at the administrative offices at least four days every single week for probably the
last seven years or so. All during the day while I'm allegedly working, don't tell my boss. Um, so I do not want to
walk away from my work that matters. Um, but I also know that when I take on a responsibility, I organize my life around it.
I could not have been on the school committee and done the work I do uh if I had a nineto-five job that required me to be there. That I I wouldn't have done
it because that's not who I am. Whatever time is required is the time that a project gets. Um, so my schedule will be
fine. My boss is fine. As he says, we're never waiting on you. you're always sitting around waiting for us. Different
problem. Um, but the real question is not whether I have another job. It is whether I show up, prepare, remain
accessible, and deliver. And I have a record for doing that.
Joe Lynch
Thank you very much, Mr. Oats.
Chris Oates
Yeah, I've said from the beginning that this is going to be my full-time job because that's what you deserve and that is what is required to actually do the job. Well, I know a lot of folks who've
worked in and around Beacon Hill, and they can tell you that the legislature might be transparent to the outside, but those on the inside know who are the workers and those who are getting
reelected, but maybe not showing up all the time. Because ultimately, if you want to get something passed, it's not that it gets passed in the budget in July and you start working on in July.
I'm going to start working on September 3rd. I'm going to give myself one day off, but start working on September 3rd to get my entire legislative agenda for the first term done by December. Know
who I'm working with. what is the actual legislation we're firing? What is uh what is the strategy? Of course, you're going to have to adapt when the when the session hits, but I would much rather be
adapting from a place of preparedness and knowing that all of my effort is going into representing this district and having the meetings on the issues that might not even seem at the time
like they're worth my time. You know, it might be, oh, we're going to have a meeting on on this thing. I don't know if it's really worth it, but I'm going to do it anyway because those are often
the ones where you discover the the cracks in the system, the things where people are falling through, where you can actually really make a difference.
So I I'm I know a lot of people who have worked in around Beacon Hill, as I said, and they tell me that there's really no question if you want to do the job well,
if you want to do the work, you really need to be putting in the time. So that's why I've said from the beginning, this will be my full-time job. I'm going to give up my company uh to someone else
and I will uh have nothing else other than this and child care, obviously. Thank you very much.
Paul Ruseau
Can I add on?
Joe Lynch
Sure.
Paul Ruseau
So, um, a legislator makes $82,000 a year and, um, if you live in Medford or Somerville, um, and you can live on
$82,000 a year, um, you already own your home. Um, it is the legislaturator's
methodology for uh, providing pressure is to give you committees where you can make a lot more money. And frankly, if
you don't need that money, then you already come from enough wealth where it doesn't matter. But for a lot of regular folks, and I count myself along that
line, I can't live on $82,000 a year. I would have to live in my car. So,
Joe Lynch
thank you very much. Do we have a timer problem or I don't know what that is.
Sorry, you lowered the volume on us. All right. Thank you very much. Are we done?
We're done with that. Let's go to the next question. And I'm going to kind of eliminate follow-ups for the next couple of questions because we're running a little bit behind. Mr. Mr. Rouso, you
support establishing a state singlepayer health care system. Mr. Oats has said he
doubts that singlepayer health care is workable at the same at the state level, more so with federal cuts,
more so with federal cuts making state budgets even tighter. Mr. Rouso, how
would you finance singlepayer, especially without federal cooperation?
And Mr. Oats, if state singlepayer is unworkable, please explain your alternative for improving health care costs and access in Massachusetts.
Paul Ruseau
So, um, paying for it is not actually a challenge. Um, it's only a challenge if, um, if you're really, really, really
rich. We have the millionaires tax. 4% on every dollar you earn over a million.
So the first, you know, the first million, you're not paying any more than you, me, or what I assume is most of the people in the room. After that, the
first million, you start paying 4 cents additional per dollar. Um, I propose that for every additional million, we
add 1% more, up to 12%. There are people in Massachusetts, and I don't mean one, whose income last year was over $50
million. And don't forget, these are folks with a lot of lawyers and CPAs that can figure out how to not pay taxes. Their actual taxable income was
over $50 million last year. So, I'm going to struggle to cry if we add another 1% or if you are up that high,
12%. Um, that would generate 8.7 billion a year. Um the reason you can't go over 12% is you end up with this situation
where they then stop taking their income because people in that kind of an income bracket can just decide to not take income. Um so we don't want to go too
high. Although in my heart I would like to go higher. Um but 8.7 billion is a lot of money and I think we could do an
awful lot for uh Medicare for all and probably a lot of other things.
Joe Lynch
Chris Oats, why is it unworkable?
Chris Oates
So I live I've lived under a singlepayer healthcare system. I lived in England and I remember when I showed up they
said oh by the way here's your doctor and I was like okay what's the c-ay what's the insurance and like what are you talking about you just go to the doctor just go to the doctor and it was
it was great I mean it's not utopia they have problems with weight times they have problems with uh how much they pay their their staff but it is a better
system so if we could get Medicare for all I would be very happy and if we could have a a budget that could make that work I would be very happy I would
gladly pay for it but the fact is that health care our healthare system is split between the state and the federal government and the federal government
can run deficits. So if health care costs go up, the federal government just prints more debt. Massachusetts cannot run deficits. Meaning if health care
costs rise more than expected, that money has to come out of somewhere else.
So we might be cutting teacher salaries, cutting uh the MBTA, cutting other things. And we've already seen this in Boston where they had to lay off teachers in part because healthcare
costs were rising. So I am not against single pair healthcare. I want to be very clear. If there is a plan that we can do it and we can do it with enough
of a buffer so that we're not putting everything else in the state at risk every single year, I'd be happy to sign on to it. But um yeah, I don't want to
promise something knowing that we may do it and then it may not work out. Uh and that is specifically because of the state federal uh balance of who can run a deficit.
Joe Lynch
Thank you very much. Council, which one is right?
Will Mbah
Uh Mr. Russo. Mr. Russo plus one.
Because again as somebody who you know came to this country and struggle with health insurance like I mentioned in the beginning and I lived in Sweden for 3
years you know I never saw a single bill just went through the hospital in we can do this stuff it's the political will look how much money we spend in war
bombing people across the world you know we can use just a fraction of that money and also like just to plus one again to
Mr. Roso that talk about you know this the millionaire tax has done so much like that we I I think you know this is
like a no-brainer we just need the political will and the drive to push you know for this you know policies to happen so thank you
Joe Lynch
thank you next
question next question is about the commonwealth stabilization fund also known as the
rainy day fund hopefully all of us have a little rainy day fund socked way as individuals, but some don't. So, this
question, Mr. Russo, you've advocated using part of that fund to prevent cuts resulting from reductions in federal
assistance. Mr. Oats, you have expressed some reluctance to use the Commonwealth's rainy day fund outside a recession.
So, Mr. Rouso, should we dig into the rainy day fund to protect Massachusetts residents from the effects of the Trump administration's budget cuts?
Paul Ruseau
Yes. Um, I'll say more than that. Um, you know, if we end up with Trump for
the next 25 years, which I can't fathom how he would live that long, but you know, if Trump really just never goes away and we don't have another election,
frankly, I think this is not one of our biggest problems. Um if in fact three years from now we have a somehow sane
administration um then I imagine that these kinds of cuts will not stand. we can afford three
years of another $600 million coming out of our rainy d rainy day fund so that we don't have to kick all these people off
of Mass Health. If it was a permanent problem where there was no future where we could imagine this wasn't going to
happen uh where we might someday stop having to have this huge hole um then I think we should have a different
conversation. But um we're not talking about 20 years of having to keep this up. In my mind, we're talking about
three years and then if the federal government is in fact no different than it is today, we we have a lot of other
bigger problems to solve. And I obviously I don't think the entire rainy day fund should just be used to plug the mass health hole. Um but $600 million,
it's it's a lot for the budget of Mass Health, but it's not that big a chunk of the the rainy day fund. So yeah, what's
when is it raining? I don't understand when our government thinks it's raining. It's freaking pouring out.
Joe Lynch
Thank you very much, Mr. Oats. Is that a responsible way to use the rainy day fund?
Chris Oates
It can be. I mean, I think it comes down to the numbers and what it is like we're looking at because if we get elected, it is going to be July of 2027 when our
first budget is coming in. And one of the problems that we had during the great recession of ' 07 to09 is that a lot of state governments again because
we can't run a deficit had to cut uh we had to cut teachers and nurses, police officers, a lot of other positions which not only hurts the economy but really
affects the people involved. So one of the reasons we did that is because rainy day funds across the country got depleted or they they were not seen to
be uh large enough. So, if we have a situation next year when the budget is coming up where it looks as if we can afford it and we're not going into
recession where we are going to need that rainy day fund for every other thing uh thing that the government does.
Sure. But I remember when we filled this out, it was like March or April of of this year. And we were not, you know, I
I cannot promise what the economy is going to be 14 months in the future. And I don't think it's responsible to say we will spend a certain amount of money on
a certain thing when that money is supposed to be for everyone in the event of a recession. And so yes, if we're not in a recession, that's a different
story. But if we are, that is what it is there for so that our teachers and our hospitals do not go under again because Massachusetts can't run a deficit. And
we don't know if the federal government will come in and bail us out as they did during COVID.
Joe Lynch
Thank you very much. Council Limba, you've had to make these kind of decisions on Somerville City Council.
You've utilized stabilization funds in the past. Do you agree with the approach here?
Will Mbah
100% again to uh uh Mr. Roso, you know.
So on the city council, we have all these various stabilization accounts.
It's like almost like 55 of them. If you add all that money, you know, like it's probably not of Mr. Master Bon is right
there like I've been chas this is this is our finance director this is my number one thing follow the money and I I instructed the administration to
consolidate all this money because when I was coming to summer they will give like $500,000 and then IKA never came
it's sitting somewhere another you know company will come they will put some money and this money they're all sitting there I said consolidate this money we
can repurpose it legally possible and help our constituents and that money we've created a community stabilization account that has been helping food for
free, you know, like all these different needs that we have in the community. So yet it is pouring and we are in a rainy emergency. I don't if that is even a
word, you know. So we need to use, you know, like that rainy day money to be able to help, you know, stabilize the community.
Joe Lynch
Still got some time on the clock there, counselor, you want it?
Will Mbah
No, again, it's just I'm passionate about, you know, these kind of like issues and so and we've led on that.
That's why I'm talking about I bring my experience. I have a track record.
That's the that's the that's the the the bad the good and bad is that there's nothing to figure me out. I I have led the the city for nearly a decade. So
there's nothing. That's why you go on my website. I only have my record. I don't have all these good ideas. You know, I want to do XYZ.
Joe Lynch
Thank you very much. Going to look to our timer. We got time for closing statements. We sure do. So, the closing
statements from each of the candidates for the 34th Middle Sex District. We're going to start with
how about let's go to Mr. Russo first.
Paul Ruseau
All right, it's me. [laughter] When I was a work study student in college, I discovered computer programming. I didn't discover it. I
discovered that it existed. Uh, which turned into a passion for problem solving and then into a career. And I was lucky. But chance alone shouldn't decide who builds a life of meaning.
Years later, I co-led a programming club at my my kids elementary school. And when I was a when I asked the question,
what hap what does the school offer afterwards? Because the kids were so excited. And if you know anything about computer science, it's mostly men. And
frankly, the girls were the ones that were shining in the class. So I was very excited. Um, and so I asked what was next and the answer was there's nothing.
there's no curriculum. I was very dismayed by the answer. Then came the election, the election of um 2016. And
when my kids went to bed, we all knew Hillary Clinton was going to be the president. And then I went upstairs in the morning to wake my daughter, who was
nine, and I told her who was going to be the next president. And she opened her eyes just so cute and they were just
barely open. And she said, "Well, And I I was very proud as a parent to
know that that's the right way to use those words, even though I wouldn't like you to use them. Um, and then we talked about what we could do we could do next.
So instead of doing nothing, I ran for office and I won by 28 votes. And the incumbent, longtime incumbent, wanted a recount. So I won by 32 votes. I had to
pay $1,000 for each of those votes. Um, so I I have a real passion for changing
things because my own experience was a government that failed, but that experience tells me all the things that
a government could be doing and it's not. So I really am looking forward to working with the different agencies and
working with everyone, frankly, because that's, you know, I'm in the Medford public schools. I'm working with everyone and I look forward to serving you and being here working for you.
Thank you.
Joe Lynch
Thank you, Paul. Let's go to councelor andba.
Will Mbah
Thank you Joe and to everybody here.
Thank you to my notable candidates and colleagues. Um first of all I have a suit and a tie. I bike. Yes. So that is
and it was warm. So that's why I don't look this beefy. So we've heard two different perspective about the future of our district and I have one simple
question for you all. Who is prepared to get results on day one? You know this district deserve more than good
intentions. It deserve proven leadership and throughout my life from im immigrating to this country to raising
my family here to serving on the city council I have never forgotten why I enter public service. I believe every
family deserve an affordable home. Every worker deserve dignity and fair wages.
Every child deserve a great public education. Every senior deserves security.
Every neighborhood deserves safe streets, clean paths, and a reliable public transportation. And every resident deserve a representative who
listen, who shows up and who gets things done. I'm that person and I respectfully ask for your vote on September 1st.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Joe Lynch
Thank you, Will. Chris Oats.
Chris Oates
Well, thank you very much for being here. It has been great and yes, Will is right. I have been asking for debates because you deserve to be able to choose who your next representative is. As I
said at the beginning, we live in the least competitive state legislature in the country. Um, and we deserve to be the ones making those choices and making real choices. You know, um, I think I
alluded to it, but I've lived kind of surrounded by medicine my whole life. My dad's a doctor. My wife's a doctor, her dad's a doctor, her sister's a doctor.
And medicine is pretty simple when it comes down to it. A patient comes in, you listen to them, you diagnose the problem, you treat them. And I think
government should basically be the same way. Your representative should listen to you, work with advocates and activists and experts to try to diagnose the problem and then actually solve
them. And you need to actually solve them. You need to deal with the the reality of what your your situation is.
If you're at the state house and you need to get a majority of the legislature on your side, you need to meet them where they are and bring them to your side. You know, no one has ever
said of my doctor, "Oh, I've got a great doctor because he shook my hand once or I got a great doctor because he promised he would look into getting getting me
better." The only thing that matters is that your government actually delivers results. And the only way you do that is by working hard to go out and knock on,
you know, thousands of doors as I have done and listen to people of what they need. Whether it is universal child care because it's a second mortgage, whether it is housing that they can afford,
roads that don't have massive potholes in it that blows out their tires or twists their ankles. And both of those were just yesterday on the doors, people telling me this. But the only way you do
that is if you can go to Beacon Hill, get the votes for it, get the money for it, and then get it done. And so that's what I want to do. If I go if if I'm
lucky enough to get your vote, there's three questions that I'm going to be asking myself every day, which is what is the problem? What is the solution?
And how do we get it done? And if you do that every single day when people are paying attention and not paying attention, that's how you get at the end of a year a little bit better than it is now and a little bit better after that.
And that's how the people who are living here get the government that they deserve and get the representative that they deserve, too. Thank you.
Joe Lynch
Thank you very much, my fellow voters.
These are the three candidates for the 34th Middle Sex District. Will Chris Oats Paul Russo candidates best wishes.
Thank you very much. Thank you everybody.
[applause]
All right. Thank you everyone very much for being here.
